In the post Inter–Parma 2-0 press conference, a victory that sealed the 21st Scudetto, Cristian Chivu appeared at the microphones but chose to immediately give the floor to his staff, as a gesture of gratitude for the work done throughout the season. The coach wanted to share the moment with his group of collaborators, emphasizing their decisive contribution on the road to the championship.
The main speaker was assistant coach Aleksandar Kolarov, and other members of the technical staff also spoke, including Mario Cecchi and Angelo Palombo.
“New atmosphere? Usually when you change coach, there’s always a new atmosphere. With the boss, we tried to work well, to suggest some new ideas but not take anything away and add ideas to the game. We believed that a day like today could come, so I can say we are happy,” said Kolarov.
“Turning point match? If I can tell you a key match, there isn’t one, it’s a journey. One match doesn’t change our thoughts. Sometimes we were ‘satisfied’ even after a defeat because of how the team interpreted the game and vice versa. We believe in a journey because it’s important to win and we tried to win well too. The guys were great at accepting our requests. Let me close: last year’s defeat happens, but the way you journalists present it, it seems like a total disaster, the other teams were sitting on the couch watching what Inter did. Since June, the team immediately made themselves available, we worked hard and took advantage of their footballing but above all human qualities. The foundation is quality but the difference is made by the men.”
“What has Inter given? Inter is trying to bring quality to Italian football but it’s not over yet because there’s another match in ten days. It’s up to you to say what Inter has brought,” concluded Chivu’s assistant.
Among the most decisive figures within this season’s technical staff is undoubtedly Angelo Palombo, often mentioned by the players for his meticulous work in preparing set pieces, which proved to be a decisive weapon: “Set piece secret? We have very strong takers and jumpers. We just took advantage of these characteristics. The strong taker is 70% in my opinion.”
At the end of the conference, Mario Cecchi, former collaborator of Simone Inzaghi, also spoke, who chose not to follow the coach to Saudi Arabia.
“Differences between Inzaghi and Chivu? There haven’t been big differences in play. We just tried to continue a journey, adding something. The most important thing was actually the defeats because we absorbed them well, we were disappointed but we always tried to do our job well. We were good at metabolizing defeats. As for Inzaghi’s management, I have always thanked him and I thank the club and the coach today because they allowed me to be here.”
